Bindweed

ok admittedly i havent pressed the play button just yet but i thought i would share that i dont PERSONALLY feel that eliminating bindweed is nessacary
http://www.richsoil.com/permaculture/1779-163-bindweed/ <this is the podcast that was just released

bindweed is wild morning glory, this plant is medicinal and can therefore be used as a cash crop imo
the seeds in small doses can be used for medicine for constipation and the leaves for insect bites as well as frostbite and chilblains
here is a site i have bookmarked but there are others out there as well...though most are about LSA content in the seeds...
http://www.richsoil.com/permaculture/1779-163-bindweed/

it is just another crop that one can harvest while waiting for the fruits of their labors to bear harvestable crops...

Well, personally, I do think bindweed is pretty, but its out of control around here. There's no way to keep it from strangling other crops other than ripping it out repeatedly, it invades with horrifying quickness, and I simply don't have the time to harvest the massive amounts of seed my total amount of bindweed produces. In fact, I have so much of it that I'm considering buying or making a composter just to compost bindweed without risking it spreading even more enthusiastically.
If I could ever get it to stay put, I'd be happy to leave some. <laugh> I'm never going to eradicate it, but I do hope to reclaim some areas from it.
If harvesting works for you, best of luck.

i suppose that i should edit to say that i dont feel it nessacary to COMPLETELY erradicate bindweed, i could definately see it as an issue is some places... but i figured i'd share to help people make 'lemonade' with all their 'lemons' thye got growing
cus i have it everywhere too but i figure its just something to use and its about the only thing i've ever gotten to climb around here lol, everything else gets beaten down by the hail before it ever gets a chance to climb...

after listening, im glad im to hear that paul also thinks these plants are somewhat rhizomous and that possibly a field could all be one plant... not that ihave proof but when pulling it seems like the root breaks easily as if snapping off a rhizome

Rabbits love bindweed.... but they love what's strangling bindweed too. I ran out of bindweed last year feeding the rabbits but in some spots it also pulled down the plant as I was ripping at it with my abrasive man hands. I wish it was easier to get at the roots so I could plant it in the duck pen, it always snaps off when i try to get at the source. I want more bindweed, but where I want it, nobody wants to harvest bindweed wrapped around black berry wraped around salmon berry wraped around a fence.

i have noticed quite a few rabbits this year as well, im sure they're enjoying the bindweed:)

I understand this wouldn't really be plausible on a large scale, but I just walk up to the victim plant, look for the bindweed stem where it's closest to the ground, and snip it with my fingers.

The dead bindweed still coils around my plant, but it's not going to do any more damage. In fact, in places where the bindweed hops from plant to plant, it can actually stabilize things, making the group stronger.

But yes, it does pull plants down. Nature's way of making compost for itself. Almost like the plant form of mushrooms in that they are earth's teeth.

It's almost like plants know where other plants are in relation to it and will actively shade out or pull down things that don't compute. I noticed this also when I saw a single clover plant stretching it's body to purposely shade out my soon-to-be gigantic patty-pan squash. Just a friendly way of saying "I'm here with all my clover friends, and I don't want you in my sandbox".

As for bindweed, it's worth re-mentioning what was said in the podcast, the long tap-roots that are providing something great for the soil.

William

PS: As for larger scale control, you can always crowd it out with easier to manage plants like clover.
W

The limited numbers of herb stores around here would not sell bindweed seeds for constipation. I have read in more than one place that it is toxic enough to humans that even a trained herbalist should exercise extreme caution and probably use something else. This may not be true, but I think it does dampen the market. If there was no plantain around, I would use a briefly chewed leaf as medicine, but there is usually plantain. I accept some bindweed as a fact of life here on my farm, but I would be surprised if it could be used as a cash crop. Has anyone
done this?

I wish our wild rabbits liked the
bindweed. They prefer clover and dandelion stems.

One year I paid the kids 2 cents for every bindweed flower they brought me. Between 4 kids I paid out about 70 dollars over 2 days, with no discernable change in bindweed population. The kids got really good at seeking it out though.

I have read that studies have supported it as a cancer treatment.
If I had cancer, I might try bindweed before radiation.

Devon the second link in your original post is a copy of the first... is there any chance you could repost the link please? I was on a similar hunt for uses of bindweed last week but didn't come up with much, even with regard to alkaloid content.

Thank you for posting that, i didn't even notice!
here ya go

http://www.pyroenergen.com/articles07/traditional-chinese-medicine.htm